Showyou channels provide creator-makers with new distribution outlet

Video discovery startup Showyou adds channels to allow anyone to create and distribute their own collections of videos

Described as ‘Flipboard for video’ when it launched way back in 2011, the (Android and IOS) app Showyou became a hit with users as it pulls in video links from their contacts across several social networks and video repositories including Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Vimeo.

The videos will pull in from YouTube and Vimeo and won’t be actually hosted on the app itself, in effect creating a new distribution outlet for filmmakers.

Content owners will be able to customize their channels, and the app will also provide analytics on who’s viewing, where, and for how long.

The channels will also carry ads in the form of promoted/sponsored videos, if the owner so desires, and the service will operate on a freemium basis making it free to build a basic channel with Showyou charging for additional features.

Pricing starts as low as $5 a month for individuals, scaling up for bigger media companies or corporations running multi-channels.

For viewers, Showyou will become a new way to discover content with a playlist popping up of other videos in the channel once they hit the play button on the screen.

We’ve just created our own smartmoviemaker publisher account and we’ll be letting you know how it goes, but we are impressed with the service so far.

As the shift to tablets and smartphones as the primary screens for viewing content continues, this looks like another cool platform for users, and now creator-makers.